


when i see a man (i see a lion)

by mother_hearted



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Disturbing Themes, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 07:48:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23967883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mother_hearted/pseuds/mother_hearted
Summary: "Is something wrong?" Dimitri asks drowsily.Claude makes a noise in his throat, the one he makes when he's caught in the middle of a scheme.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 13
Kudos: 100





	when i see a man (i see a lion)

Dimitri rolls over to the sounds of Claude coming back to bed.

"Is something wrong?" Dimitri asks drowsily. 

Claude makes a noise in his throat, the one he makes when he's caught in the middle of a scheme. Dimitri huffs quietly, expecting to find a book in his hand, a new candle to light by their bedside.

"Ah, sorry, Dimitri. I couldn't sleep."

"Your theory on if wyverns can dream in color can wait until morning."

Claude laughs. 

"No, that's not..." From where he stands, he is a dark blur, not quite distinct enough to be a shadow. "...ugh. I was feeling unsettled. Restless. Thinking about how small the room felt."

Oh. 

"I understand. But you know you can always wake me up if you need to talk." It's hard for Claude, when he's still getting comfortable with asking for reassurance. Dimitri has no problem reminding him. "Anything you need, all you have to do is ask."

"You really mean that?"

Despite how the shadows obscure Claude's face, Dimitri knows he is smiling in the way his voice tilts, in the steps he takes to close the distance between them. Up close, his silhouette is illuminated by the moonlight bleeding in from their window. Casting him silver and blue, he looks more like an apparition than a man. 

Dimitri's heart skips a beat in confusion.

"You know I do. In whatever way I can protect you, I will. In my arms you will always be safe, always home." Just like he is for Dimitri. Dimitri sits up in bed, notes how achingly cold it feels without Claude beside him. Wants to reach for Claude, to rid himself of the lingering chill that threatens to sink into his bones, locking his joints in place. "Darling..."

"In your arms," Claude rumbles fondly, shaking his head. "You always know just what to say, you know? In the end, you make everything so easy, Dimitri." And then he sighs and from out of his sleeve metal glints. In the beam of moonlight a cleaver suddenly rests in the grip of his fist. 

"Claude."

"Arms out, Dimitri."

"Claude, what are you doing?!"

"You want me to feel safe, don't you, beloved?" He croons, like Dimitri is a child who needs coaxing to be put down for a nap. His blood freezes when Claude steps closer and he can finally see the cold glass of his eyes, how they don't match the soft smile of his supple mouth. "I have to get rid of them, those animal paws. I can't feel safe with them around, knowing what you can do with them."

"No." He cannot move. Hinges of his elbows and knees locked in place, his shoulders and hips frozen in terror. "Please, you cannot -"

"I can't endure any more sleepless nights with a beast in my bed." His reply cuts Dimitri so sharply he expects to see the cleaver dripping with blood but it remains pristine and clean. "Two clean strikes, Dimitri." He croons, "It'll be over soon."

The cleaver sparkles in the moonlight when he swings it up, shining bright like a star falling to its death on its way down.

Dimitri wakes up screaming, fingernails bleeding from clawing into his nightstand, blankets and sheets twisted around his legs where he lies on the floor. He kicks them off in a panic, scrambling at his night stand, the posts of his bed frame when he hears a door fling open and he freezes, bed frame creaking in his grip.

"Dima?"

He stares at Claude's feet but he doesn't see them. Caught in the in-between of animal fear and heart bursting adrenaline. His name -- his humanity -- is repeated, until Dimitri finally hears -- _sees_ \-- Claude and he sobs out a reply. Curls himself tight onto the floor while he quakes and weeps. 

"Oh, Dima." Claude walks over slowly, "Do you know who I am? Can I touch you?"

Dimitri cannot answer, can only nod his head into the floor. Keeps his hands tucked under him, ignorant of the blood he stains across their carpet. He feels Claude's hands settle on his shoulders when he kneels in front of him, his long sleeves brushing against his skin. 

"Can you feel my hands, Dima? Try and focus on them." His hands... Somehow, even against Dimitri's overheated skin they burn. He tries to imagine their shape. How heavy each pad of his finger rests on his flesh. Imagines he can feel each line of his palm. His hands an anchor, Dimitri finds himself pulled out of his sea of tears. His head remains pressed to the floor and he struggles to find the air to breathe. 

"There we go," Claude whispers warmly. "Now let's sit up, Dima. Stretch out your diaphragm." 

Dimitri stiffens up out of fear. Afraid to confuse the man in front of him with the ghoul who haunted him. Claude rubs his shoulders and neck in response. "It's all right. We're in our bedroom. I was just meditating in the garden and you fell out of bed. Let me see if you got hurt, hm?"

Dimitri steels himself but can't stop the whimper in his throat, how he keeps his hands tucked under his thighs when he finally unfolds his spine. In the morning light of their bedroom, all he sees is his husband, how his brown skin glows warm, looking like home. Dimitri's bottom lip wobbles and he finally lets himself come home, sliding out his hands for Claude to inspect.

Claude's concern is tempered, but Dimitri sees it all the same. Feels familiar guilt prickle between the vertebrae in his spine. Turning Dimitri's large hands over in his own, Claude gently places a kiss at the center of each palm. Dimitri's tears are silent this time, rolling down his cheeks and chin as they wash away the last of the ghoulish visions plaguing his mind. 

"Claude," he croaks out, the first word he's spoken since waking up. The only word he knows that grounds him in this moment, the only word that gives him courage to move and press his brow to his. 

"I'm here, Dima." He tightens his hold on Dimitri's hands. "We're here, together."

"Together," he whispers. 

"Let's go clean up," Claude drops his voice to match Dimitri's whisper, always willing to meet him where Dimitri needs him.

They go.


End file.
